Sorry... I reread your post. You started out with "Lot of people in the west" and I definitely misread it. Too bad there's no "undo" button on Slashdot...
It's unfair to say "We humans aren't ready." The truth is, there is a fair percentage (and I don't even want to get depressed thinking about how small that percentage is, or that it is probably shrinking.) that is perfectly ready to handle such things. Many of us don't bash gays or brown people or the Chinese. I believe in a higher power, but certainly don't claim to know him/her/it so well that I can tell someone else their beliefs are wrong. I believe that anyone would assert something like that obviously missed a lesson in bible school or Hebrew school or Madrasah. Most religions teach tolerance and humility at their core.
Had you read the article, you'd know this was a sub-orbital flight. Nothing left in space.
From TFA:
Since it was a suborbital flight, the rocket soon parachuted back to Earth, coming down at the White Sands Missile Range. While technically a spaceflight, it was more or less a really high-altitude rocket.
Here's a new idea. Why not make a printer, and sell it for what it costs to make, plus fair profit for the company? You could even use this same wacky business model for the ink! I know it doesn't quite follow the over-simplified model of selling a printer at just enough to cover your costs, then soak the end user with grossly overpriced consumables because that ensures a source of renewable income, thus making the your budget spreadsheet nice and pretty, but I think people have made it work in the past. Like every company that ever sold anything before the 1970's.
I realize this is the new model that many manufacturers are using since Polaroid started giving away cameras in the 1970's so they could sell the film at insanely high margins, but that's a seemingly short term business model. Eventually, people get wise to your plan, and you start pissing off your loyal customers, who realize full well that they are taking it up the pooper. I wish some company would come out and break this business model. I, as an informed consumer, would pay a little more for a printer if I knew I wasn't getting ripped off on the ink. I can't be the only one out there.
My grandmother bought a Maytag washer in the 1950's. In 2003, the knob on the front broke. 50 years later, it still washed clothes fine, but there were vice grips clamped to the stem where the knob was. Maytag doesn't make that part any more, so she replaced it with a new top-of-the-line Maytag. It broke last year. My parents bought a Maytag in 1972. It's still working fine. From what I've read about the new ones, they're complete crap. What's more, there isn't a washing machine on the market that could last 30 years, let alone 50 years. They aren't made to last that long.
It's because there's no financial incentive for a company to make good washing machines any more. The ones out there are rushed to market, made of inferior quality parts and put together poorly. If I have to buy a new one in 5 years, even better for the company that makes it. They get to sell me another one.
In the free-market economy, if I decided to make a 50 year washing machine, I'd have to compete with companies that are established in the market. My washer would necessarily be more expensive than a GE or Whirlpool, and nobody's ever heard of my company. On the off-chance some people buy it, realize that it's great and it gets a good reputation, I'm still faced with the fact that once everyone in the world has a 50 year washer, I'm out of customers until 2057. Now what?
I used Washing Machines as an example here, but it's true of nearly every consumer device out there. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I don't see it getting better any time soon.
I really appreciate what this guy's trying to do here. I agree that our justice system is screwed up beyond belief, and in theory, things like this can make a difference with spammers. However, I read the whole transcript, and the case comes across as REALLY flimsy. IANAL, but frankly, if I were the judge, I'd have probably thrown it out, too. He really needed to get his ducks in a row before trying to pull off a stunt like this, and from reading the transcript, that didn't appear to be the case. My knowledge of the law comes almost exclusively from Boston Legal and Judge Wapner, but that judge ripped him a new one several times. He kept answering questions that she didn't ask, providing information that didn't follow procedure, trying to cross examine a witness while the judge was trying to establish a case, etc.
With our legal system, procedure is just as important as being right. That being said, I think this guy is probably right, but his inability to follow procedure probably frustrated the judge to the point that she couldn't rule impartially.
Comeuppance? Just desserts? Yeah, a $200,000 fine. It'll take them minutes, maybe even hours to make such a huge sum of money back. I'm sure that the next time they even think about deliberately lying to the public for decades upon decades, that fine will make them think twice!
I just purchased an Acer laptop, Vista Ready of course, for an employee of my company, and we have a volume license for XP. Of course my first action was to wipe the laptop and install XP, as none of our applications support Vista yet. Well, wouldn't you know, there exist NO drivers for this laptop anywhere on Acer's site. I called tech support to tell them that I want to install XP, and they were like "You want to do what now?" They had apparently never heard of anyone wanting to install XP on a Vista Ready laptop. I tried my best to find drivers for this laptop, but ultimately failed to get a video, sound and a few mainboard drivers. It makes me wonder: Vista was only released a few months ago. Didn't these hardware vendors start designing these components before that? Aren't they concerned with providing support for companies who might not yet be willing to take the leap to Vista? Or is there an unseen hand guiding them towards these actions...
For people like me, this would be a great deal. I use about 3000 minutes a month. Currently, I have a 4000 minute per month plan from Verizon. With the addition of unlimited data plan, I think my company pays out a little more than $200/mo for my cell phone. This would certainly be attractive for us.
Dude, expect more than a letter from you ISP talking about upload caps...
You have almost 3000 comments, and your number is lower than mine, so I know you're not new around here. That letter from your ISP is a precursor to being sued by the RIAA/MPAA. It means they've subpoenaed your ISP for your name and address based on your IP address. Your ISP is doing you a solid by letting you know they've give up your name. (I don't believe they're legally required to do so.) Expect more unfriendly mail in the near future. Best of luck to you.
Sadly, I don't see what the surprise is here. Congress passed these crappy laws limiting our civil liberties. All of us crazy, un-patriotic Libertarian wackos said that these laws would be abused. Washington and the general populace said that they would only be used to arrest the terrorists. They passed with flying colors. Everyone except the crazy, un-patriotic Libertarian wackos was happy. Lo and behold, 5 short years later, we find that these laws are being abused. Big surprise. Sadly, I am too jaded and cynical to even get upset. It's not like we didn't see this coming.
Heh. OK then, my bad. I only read the one I originally linked in the original submission. The second one does seem a little like they had it out for him.
Why should cops get to break the law when they want to? Not saying they are tyrannical, but they are no more special than you or me. Next time you get pulled over, ask the cop why he is giving you a ticket. He'll say "Speeding causes accidents, so we ticket people to make them slow down." or something to that effect. So are you trying to say that cops can drive better than the average person? Is this because they go on a neat training course where they learn how to drive fast? If that's the case, then I should be able to take that class as a private citizen and get a license to speed as well.
I don't think that cops are sitting around laughing and speeding because they are assholes. In reality, I think the whole speed enforcement racket is a joke. But, if they are going to expect me to pay fines because I am speeding and say it's to increase public safety, then they need to follow the same damn laws. If this guy was legitimately on the way to an emergency, then he should have had his lights and siren on. If it was a "silent call" then there is a protocol for that, too. But if it was neither of them, then he should get a fine and get points on his license just like the rest of us.
re-read the post. They purchased over $1000 worth of equipment for the express purpose of catching people, not necessarily the officer. Apparently, the house is at the bottom of a hill, and speeding is quite common. From the article:
they did so in hopes of convincing neighbors to slow down to create a safe environment for their son
Just because they don't have it enabled currently doesn't mean they won't. If the DRM is there, they are eventually going to use it. They want people to adopt the technology before they start turning the screws.
The point is, it's there, and we shouldn't have to accept it. What if your car manufacturer put something in your car that would cause it to only run at 25MPH, but they didn't turn it on. They have the ability to turn it on whenever they want. Would you want to buy that car? The salesman says "Oh, don't worry, they haven't turned it on yet. You should be able to drive just fine for at least 6 months."
The whole DRM thing concerns high definition media. Have you tried playing Blu-Ray on said laptop? HD-DVD? If you did, I think you'd find that you can't play it in high definition. It will downgrade the signal if you try to play it on your 2-year old Celeron, and will not play in full 1080p glory. That's what all the bruhaha is about. It's not a big deal to some people (like myself, who has a 50-inch HDTV and could care less about playing it on his PC) but to others this functionality is important. The bottom line is we aren't getting what we paid for.
Today most of the 40-piece orchestra would be replaced with synthesizers
Dude, I went on your site and listened to your music. I don't intend any offense at the following comment. Actually, I thought your what I heard was pretty good, but it is in NO WAY like using a real orchestra. That's like saying "Oh we can't afford a bassoon. Just use a trombone, they sound the same."
I'll admit that I probably have a bias. I majored in Orchestral Performance in college, and to some degree my livelihood could depend on people listening to live performers. (Actually, I'm in IT, but that's what a music performance degree gets you these days if you don't want to move around...) A Day in the Life would have been a completely different song without an orchestra.
Man, I'm all for this idea in theory, but do you realize that the Beatles didn't tour from 1966 - 1970? Concerts for generating 100% of the revenue might work for some bands, but if that model had been in place 40 years ago, we'd have no Sgt. Pepper's, White Album, Magical Mystery Tour, Abbey Road. Pretty much all of their best stuff.
Does it show up on the 2007fpw monitor but blur out when I drag it over to the other desktop?
You're giving too much credit to the MPAA. Anyone trying to view a movie on a system that doesn't have 100% HDCP compliance is obviously a pirate trying to steal content. They will probably put a virus on your PC that will cause it to format all of the hard drives and catch your house on fire.
Dude! You're giving the terrorists too many ideas. I'm sure they have never thought of those, and going onto a public forum and posting these ideas is treason! You're a terrorist. Now we can arrest you, detain you without a hearing, and never give you a trial.
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry... I reread your post. You started out with "Lot of people in the west" and I definitely misread it. Too bad there's no "undo" button on Slashdot...
It's unfair to say "We humans aren't ready." The truth is, there is a fair percentage (and I don't even want to get depressed thinking about how small that percentage is, or that it is probably shrinking.) that is perfectly ready to handle such things. Many of us don't bash gays or brown people or the Chinese. I believe in a higher power, but certainly don't claim to know him/her/it so well that I can tell someone else their beliefs are wrong. I believe that anyone would assert something like that obviously missed a lesson in bible school or Hebrew school or Madrasah. Most religions teach tolerance and humility at their core.
DLM? I was a pretty avid fan of that show, and even I had to Google that reference... :)
OOOOOOOooooooooo!
From TFA: Since it was a suborbital flight, the rocket soon parachuted back to Earth, coming down at the White Sands Missile Range. While technically a spaceflight, it was more or less a really high-altitude rocket.
Here's a new idea. Why not make a printer, and sell it for what it costs to make, plus fair profit for the company? You could even use this same wacky business model for the ink! I know it doesn't quite follow the over-simplified model of selling a printer at just enough to cover your costs, then soak the end user with grossly overpriced consumables because that ensures a source of renewable income, thus making the your budget spreadsheet nice and pretty, but I think people have made it work in the past. Like every company that ever sold anything before the 1970's.
I realize this is the new model that many manufacturers are using since Polaroid started giving away cameras in the 1970's so they could sell the film at insanely high margins, but that's a seemingly short term business model. Eventually, people get wise to your plan, and you start pissing off your loyal customers, who realize full well that they are taking it up the pooper. I wish some company would come out and break this business model. I, as an informed consumer, would pay a little more for a printer if I knew I wasn't getting ripped off on the ink. I can't be the only one out there.
My grandmother bought a Maytag washer in the 1950's. In 2003, the knob on the front broke. 50 years later, it still washed clothes fine, but there were vice grips clamped to the stem where the knob was. Maytag doesn't make that part any more, so she replaced it with a new top-of-the-line Maytag. It broke last year. My parents bought a Maytag in 1972. It's still working fine. From what I've read about the new ones, they're complete crap. What's more, there isn't a washing machine on the market that could last 30 years, let alone 50 years. They aren't made to last that long.
It's because there's no financial incentive for a company to make good washing machines any more. The ones out there are rushed to market, made of inferior quality parts and put together poorly. If I have to buy a new one in 5 years, even better for the company that makes it. They get to sell me another one.
In the free-market economy, if I decided to make a 50 year washing machine, I'd have to compete with companies that are established in the market. My washer would necessarily be more expensive than a GE or Whirlpool, and nobody's ever heard of my company. On the off-chance some people buy it, realize that it's great and it gets a good reputation, I'm still faced with the fact that once everyone in the world has a 50 year washer, I'm out of customers until 2057. Now what?
I used Washing Machines as an example here, but it's true of nearly every consumer device out there. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I don't see it getting better any time soon.
I really appreciate what this guy's trying to do here. I agree that our justice system is screwed up beyond belief, and in theory, things like this can make a difference with spammers. However, I read the whole transcript, and the case comes across as REALLY flimsy. IANAL, but frankly, if I were the judge, I'd have probably thrown it out, too. He really needed to get his ducks in a row before trying to pull off a stunt like this, and from reading the transcript, that didn't appear to be the case. My knowledge of the law comes almost exclusively from Boston Legal and Judge Wapner, but that judge ripped him a new one several times. He kept answering questions that she didn't ask, providing information that didn't follow procedure, trying to cross examine a witness while the judge was trying to establish a case, etc.
With our legal system, procedure is just as important as being right. That being said, I think this guy is probably right, but his inability to follow procedure probably frustrated the judge to the point that she couldn't rule impartially.
Not to mention a nice place to hide from the Martians...
Comeuppance? Just desserts? Yeah, a $200,000 fine. It'll take them minutes, maybe even hours to make such a huge sum of money back. I'm sure that the next time they even think about deliberately lying to the public for decades upon decades, that fine will make them think twice!
This may be the first post in the history of /. that manages to be both informative and erotic.
I just purchased an Acer laptop, Vista Ready of course, for an employee of my company, and we have a volume license for XP. Of course my first action was to wipe the laptop and install XP, as none of our applications support Vista yet. Well, wouldn't you know, there exist NO drivers for this laptop anywhere on Acer's site. I called tech support to tell them that I want to install XP, and they were like "You want to do what now?" They had apparently never heard of anyone wanting to install XP on a Vista Ready laptop. I tried my best to find drivers for this laptop, but ultimately failed to get a video, sound and a few mainboard drivers. It makes me wonder: Vista was only released a few months ago. Didn't these hardware vendors start designing these components before that? Aren't they concerned with providing support for companies who might not yet be willing to take the leap to Vista? Or is there an unseen hand guiding them towards these actions...
For people like me, this would be a great deal. I use about 3000 minutes a month. Currently, I have a 4000 minute per month plan from Verizon. With the addition of unlimited data plan, I think my company pays out a little more than $200/mo for my cell phone. This would certainly be attractive for us.
Dude, expect more than a letter from you ISP talking about upload caps...
You have almost 3000 comments, and your number is lower than mine, so I know you're not new around here. That letter from your ISP is a precursor to being sued by the RIAA/MPAA. It means they've subpoenaed your ISP for your name and address based on your IP address. Your ISP is doing you a solid by letting you know they've give up your name. (I don't believe they're legally required to do so.) Expect more unfriendly mail in the near future. Best of luck to you.
Sadly, I don't see what the surprise is here. Congress passed these crappy laws limiting our civil liberties. All of us crazy, un-patriotic Libertarian wackos said that these laws would be abused. Washington and the general populace said that they would only be used to arrest the terrorists. They passed with flying colors. Everyone except the crazy, un-patriotic Libertarian wackos was happy. Lo and behold, 5 short years later, we find that these laws are being abused. Big surprise. Sadly, I am too jaded and cynical to even get upset. It's not like we didn't see this coming.
Heh. OK then, my bad. I only read the one I originally linked in the original submission. The second one does seem a little like they had it out for him.
Why should cops get to break the law when they want to? Not saying they are tyrannical, but they are no more special than you or me. Next time you get pulled over, ask the cop why he is giving you a ticket. He'll say "Speeding causes accidents, so we ticket people to make them slow down." or something to that effect. So are you trying to say that cops can drive better than the average person? Is this because they go on a neat training course where they learn how to drive fast? If that's the case, then I should be able to take that class as a private citizen and get a license to speed as well.
I don't think that cops are sitting around laughing and speeding because they are assholes. In reality, I think the whole speed enforcement racket is a joke. But, if they are going to expect me to pay fines because I am speeding and say it's to increase public safety, then they need to follow the same damn laws. If this guy was legitimately on the way to an emergency, then he should have had his lights and siren on. If it was a "silent call" then there is a protocol for that, too. But if it was neither of them, then he should get a fine and get points on his license just like the rest of us.
Just because they don't have it enabled currently doesn't mean they won't. If the DRM is there, they are eventually going to use it. They want people to adopt the technology before they start turning the screws.
The point is, it's there, and we shouldn't have to accept it. What if your car manufacturer put something in your car that would cause it to only run at 25MPH, but they didn't turn it on. They have the ability to turn it on whenever they want. Would you want to buy that car? The salesman says "Oh, don't worry, they haven't turned it on yet. You should be able to drive just fine for at least 6 months."
The whole DRM thing concerns high definition media. Have you tried playing Blu-Ray on said laptop? HD-DVD? If you did, I think you'd find that you can't play it in high definition. It will downgrade the signal if you try to play it on your 2-year old Celeron, and will not play in full 1080p glory. That's what all the bruhaha is about. It's not a big deal to some people (like myself, who has a 50-inch HDTV and could care less about playing it on his PC) but to others this functionality is important. The bottom line is we aren't getting what we paid for.
I'll admit that I probably have a bias. I majored in Orchestral Performance in college, and to some degree my livelihood could depend on people listening to live performers. (Actually, I'm in IT, but that's what a music performance degree gets you these days if you don't want to move around...) A Day in the Life would have been a completely different song without an orchestra.
Man, I'm all for this idea in theory, but do you realize that the Beatles didn't tour from 1966 - 1970? Concerts for generating 100% of the revenue might work for some bands, but if that model had been in place 40 years ago, we'd have no Sgt. Pepper's, White Album, Magical Mystery Tour, Abbey Road. Pretty much all of their best stuff.
Dude! You're giving the terrorists too many ideas. I'm sure they have never thought of those, and going onto a public forum and posting these ideas is treason! You're a terrorist. Now we can arrest you, detain you without a hearing, and never give you a trial.
You terrorists make me sick.